Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner did it in “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Zorro did it on every television episode he was in.

Now, each Friday night, Cohasset kids are learning to duel, too.

The Recreation Department debuted a new course in fencing this winter. On Friday nights, fencing coach Jim Mullarkey, 54, teaches beginner fencers the basics of the sport.

Mullarkey, a Scituate resident, readily admits he might be a little bias, but he sees fencing as the most advantageous sport in which to cross train. The fighting sport teaches hand, eye, and foot coordination, improves peripheral vision, increases speed and decreases reaction time.

“No matter what other sport a kid may play, those skills are going to help him or her,” said Mullarkey.

At its roots, fencing duels were a competition to the death, “it’s been around since cavemen picked up sticks and fought over a piece of meat,” said Mullarkey.

Now, the sport is much more sophisticated. Mullarkey said fencing is as much about brain as it is brawn.

“I call it physical chess…in order to overpower your opponent you have to out think them, thinking two or three moves down the road,” Mullarkey explains.

It’s been 46 years since Mullarkey picked up his first foil (one of the types of sword used for fencing) and he still has a passion for the sport. Along with his two brothers, Mullarkey learned the sport of fencing in between two fire trucks in Peabody. His father’s fellow firefighter, Joe Pechinsky, began teaching the brothers the sport of fencing and they never stopped learning — or teaching.

“I started teaching almost as soon as I started to learn,” said Mullarkey. “When you are teaching others you want to do it perfectly yourself, it really ingrains it in you.”

Pechinsky went on to become a mentor, teacher, friend and a world-renowned fencing coach.

Mullarkey and his two brothers, Jack and Ed, model their own fencing club named “3MB,” which stands for the three Mullarkey Brothers, after Penchinsky’s teaching. The club is based out of Beverly, but Mullarkey lives in Scituate and teaches at various locations on the South Shore. Their mission is to make the sport accessible to all from the young to the old.

“I encourage everybody to come and try it,” said Mullarkey.

While fencing was once viewed as a sport for the rich and elite, Mullarkey said it is up and coming — and increasingly accessible. He teaches at other recreation departments and YMCAs.

About 10 kids have joined the Cohasset fencing program on Friday nights at 4:30p.m. Recreation Director Ted Carroll hopes to expand the beginners’ class and add an adult and intermediate fencing class.

Page 2 of 2 - “The response from parents has been positive,” said Carroll. “The class offers a unique alternative to traditional team sports with a nice history to it.”

Fencing was one of the nine sporting disciplines at the first modern Olympic games in 1896.

There are regional competitions for fencers, but Mullarkey never pushes his students to compete.

“I tell them when I think they are ready and push them to be the best they can be,” said Mullarkey, but competition is always second to developing a lifelong love of the sport.

“It is a fighting form and it has to be done correctly, but it is a lot of fun,” said Mullarkey. “Come and try it, put on the gear, it’s a blast.”